What Does Matthew 13:11 Mean in the King James?
He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Understanding heaven’s governance is received as a gift, not seized.
THE MEANING
The verse meets you as a recipient: the mysteries of heaven’s governance are given to you to know. This knowing is a living perception, not merely the possession of hidden facts. The sentence also leaves its sharp divide in the open: what is given to you is not given to everyone.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that hidden understanding is automatically available to everyone: Jesus says it is given to some and not to others.
THE ROOT
δέδοται
dedotai
GROWS FROM
δίδωμι
didōmi
To give or grant.
“given” in this verse is dedotai. The knowing in this verse arrives as something bestowed. Its source is a giver, so understanding is received rather than claimed as personal achievement.
ALSO GROWS
dosis: Giving; a gift.
δόσις
This noun from the same word family keeps the act of giving at the center of the verse.
dotēs: Giver.
δότης
The branch names the one who gives, drawing attention to the giver behind the knowledge.
γνῶναι
gnōnai
GROWS FROM
γνῶ-
gnō-
To know, perceive, or recognize.
“know” in this verse is gnōnai. This knowing reaches beyond collecting information to perception through encounter. What is given is a way to perceive heaven’s governance, not simply a cache of secret facts.
ALSO GROWS
gnōsis: Knowledge.
γνῶσις
The related noun shows that the verse’s knowing belongs to a wider family of perception and understanding.
epiginōskō: Recognize; know fully.
ἐπιγινώσκω
This related verb carries knowing toward recognition, illuminating the personal depth of what is given.
βασιλείας
basileias
GROWS FROM
βασιλεύς
basileus
King; ruler.
“kingdom” in this verse is basileias. The word can point to a reign or governing order, not only a territory. The phrase opens the mysteries of heaven’s governance: how heaven rules and orders life.
ALSO GROWS
basileuō: To reign or rule.
βασιλεύω
This verb makes the active governing sense of “kingdom” visible.
basileia: Reign, kingship, or kingdom.
βασιλεία
This related noun holds together the ruler’s authority and the order that authority establishes.
THE PATTERN
Hidden things become knowable through disclosure that is given, rather than through access assumed to be automatic.
The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.THE THREAD
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.The same verb family, γινώσκω (ginōskō, know or perceive), appears in “that they might know thee.” Matthew’s knowing opens beyond possessing information about heaven’s governance: it is encounter with the one whose governance is given to perceive.
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